Once filled with vagrants, rats, mold, asbestos, you name it, 31 Lincoln Rd. is now being torn down. Prospect Lefferts-Gardens residents, retail “wish lists” in hand, said the ornate 1930s building, vacant for roughly eight years, has held the neighborhood back. The building is adjacent to the Prospect Park B/Q/S station, and creates a blighted void on what is arguably the changing neighborhood’s most important block. Ben Herbst, who owns the property with his brother, said they’ve surveyed locals (he even surveyed this columnist during the conversation, also a resident), but still haven’t decided what to build.
“It’s been a real blight to the neighborhood for as long as I can remember. Just walking down to the subway and having vacant ground-floor retail that doesn’t need to be there, it definitely hurts,” said homeowner Mark Dicus. He said the right retail has the potential to make the neighborhood far more attractive to buyers and renters.
Most residential buildings on the block, and adjacent Ocean Avenue and Lincoln Road, are large six-story apartment buildings. The 15,607-square-foot lot in question is zoned R7-1, for medium-density housing, with a C2-3 commercial overlay, a zoning code that widely varies in terms of maximum height. Herbst said the building would be mixed-use, with ground-floor retail, most likely built to the maximum density zoning would allow.
Prospect Lefferts-Gardens is a harmonious, diverse neighborhood in terms of age, profession, race, income and household makeup. More upper-income families and young, creative types have been moving in, but there are few stores and restaurants that typically cater to this new crowd (though, contrary to popular belief, everybody appreciates quality restaurants and retail). On the 31 Lincoln Rd. block, the two markets on either corner have started selling some organic food; K-Dog & Dunebuggy is the neighborhood café (with highly addictive red velvet cake); Enduro was an instant hit with everyone as one of the only mid-priced bars and restaurants around. Then there’s the obligatory Laundromat, Chinese takeout joint, candy (and condoms) store, nail salon and pharmacy.
K-Dog owner Gabrielle Lowe suggested a second-floor gym (coincidentally also on my wish list) and more high-quality food options. “Just please don’t put a Starbuck’s in there,” she said. Dicus agreed, noting how K-Dog, with its warm, family-friendly atmosphere, has become something of a local melting pot. “I think that would be an insult to the community if something like that happened. I don’t think it would be well-received.” He suggested “a quality grocery store, [the neighborhood] certainly needs a bank, and then I would try to fill it with smaller retailer businesses.”
For the sake of full disclosure, my wish list included Indian and Thai restaurants, a book or magazine store, and, on the second floor, a bank and gym. With an elevator, banks and gyms make good second floor tenants because amenities are added without dulling the street life.
Two more elected officials this week compared the current mortgage crisis to the Great Depression, an era that’s been brought up increasingly frequent as thousands lose their homes. Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney said at a City Council hearing Monday that some economists think the number of families who will lose their homes will exceed the Great Depression, reported Newsday. She said of the 26,000 adjustable-rate mortgages in the city examined by the Federal Reserve Bank of New York in November, only 57 percent were current, and 19 percent were in foreclosure. Congressman Gregory Meeks said at the same hearing that the nation could be headed toward an “economic downturn our nation has not seen since the Great Depression.”
The two penthouse units at One Hanson Place, formerly the Williamsburgh Savings Bank Tower, are on the market, reported Brownstoner. Called the “Clocktower Residences” because they sit just below the “gilded dome,” a four-bedroom, 3.5-bath is selling for $4.7 million, and a 2,848-square-foot three-bedroom is selling for $4 million.
— Compiled by Sarah Ryley
© Brooklyn Daily Eagle 2007
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